


Connecting the dots

by AlessaKagamine



Series: The (not so) secret relationship of the flea and the protozoan. [2]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Established Relationship, Even though I love Izaya, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Kadota is curious, Kinda, Love Confessions, M/M, Secret Relationship, To the point they don't even talk that much here, and Shizuo is really secretive about his love life, drunk Izaya and Shinra, it's not in front of the loved one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 08:18:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19001935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlessaKagamine/pseuds/AlessaKagamine
Summary: Shinra wants to go out drinking with Izaya, Shizuo and Kadota. And while the latter is a little worried about the night, he's also really happy to see the three of them. And who knows, maybe he'll be able to learn some interesting things about Shizuo's love life ?





	Connecting the dots

After their graduation from Raira, Kadota barely met with his friends. After years of spending time together, adulthood had managed to separate them. Of course, the man understood each one of them had choose different paths for their life. Shinra was always busy with Celty and his work as an underground doctor, Shizuo was going from job to job until he finally found one with Tom-san and Izaya… well, he stayed Izaya. As for him, Kadota had always his hands full with the van gang, and he would be lying if he said he had tried to keep contact with his old friends.

Nevertheless, he was still happy when he met one of them on the street, be it before a chase between Izaya and Shizuo, at russian sushi, or even during a date with Celty (but he could have live without listening to Shinra rambling about said date and how he was lucky to see Celty wearing this dress and blah blah blah…).

Speaking of the chase, it always amazed him how two grown-men could repeat the same actions since high school without being tired of it. It was obviously Izaya’s fault each time for trying to provoke the other, though Shizuo did sometimes overdo it. Some things didn’t change. It was kinda endearing to be honest.

As said before, Kadota didn’t keep contact with his friends, so when he received a call from Shinra, to say he was surprised was an understatement :

“Kadota-kun ! It’s been a while !” The doctor chirped at the other end of the line.

“Hey Shinra. What’s up ?” Kadota internally prayed that whatever the other wanted to talk about, it didn’t involved Celty (for once).

“Are you free saturday night ? I was thinking of going out for a drink, want to join us ?”

“Us ?”

“Yeah ! I wanted to invite Shizuo and Izaya too, it’s been a while since we’ve done something together, with Izaya being absent during the last hot-pot and even then we wouldn’t have been all on our own !”

“Err,” Kadota frowned, “do you think it’s a good idea to put Izaya and Shizuo in the same room ? Do they even now the other he’s coming ?”

The doctor laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

“Shinra, I really think you shou-”

“Oh sorry Kadota-kun but my beloved is calling me. I’ll send you the details this week, see you on Saturday !”

“Wait Shinra-”

Beep Beep Beep

The man let out a sigh. He was already regretting it.

 

“Dotachin !” Izaya greeted when the latter came inside the bar. Shizuo and Shinra were already there, though Kadota noticed how tensed the blond was. This was going to be a long night…

“Hello there” Shinra waved at him. Upon seeing him, Shizuo smiled too, obviously relieved he wasn’t going to drink alone with the other two. “It’s been a while.”

“Well, you know, ‘ve been pretty busy with work lately.” Shizuo explained

“It’s true that it takes so much more work for a protozoan to keep a job than for anyone el-” Izaya was cut off by Shinra who smacked his head “Ouch Shinra, that wasn’t nice !”

“Could you try not to spoil this night Izaya-kun ? Unlike you, we don’t get to see Shizuo so often.” At that, the raven suspiciously shut his mouth and shot daggers at Shinra, while Shizuo’s face was a shade redder than usual.

Before Kadota could ask what the matter was, a waiter came to their table, asking for their drinks.

They all ordered alcohol except for Shizuo, who asked a soda. He didn't like to be drunk, though he wasn't a light drinker either. Kadota smiled a little. It was typical of Shizuo to want to spend a peaceful night with his friends (and Izaya even though he didn't really have the choice) while being in control of himself. 

To his surprise, Izaya didn't comment on the other's choice of drink, barely looking at him while he ordered. Maybe tonight would be great after all...

 

A few hours later :

 

Izaya and Shinra were….wasted. Like really wasted. After 3 three shots of vodka for the latter and one more for Izaya, the two were giggling like High school girls. To think those two couldn't hold their liquor. Well, Kadota remembered a certain party after graduation where the two ravens managed to nearly set his own apartment on fire. 

The problem back then was that those two idiots didn't even notice they were drunk and just wanted to get even more smashed, thus drinking again and again. And some things never changed.

“Can I have another bottle for my bro and I please !” Shinra started to yell at the bartender, an arm around Izaya’s shoulders while the latter kept on laughing. 

“Maybe you should slow down guys,” Kadota tried, “this is your third already…”

“Come one Dotachin ! Don't be such a killjoy !” A very drunk Izaya giggled, though the words were spoken slower than usual. 

“Tsk.” Kadota turned to Shizuo. The blond hadn't drink any alcohol since they came in the bar, to which his friend was really grateful. Not being enough drunk to be part of Izaya and Shinra’s… cheering? he at least had someone to help him look out for the other two. 

“Shut up you stupid flea, you can't even speak correctly.” Shizuo rolled his eyes as Izaya pulled his tongue out. 

Rather patient tonight, Kadota thought. 

The bottle came rather quickly, and since his two friends had decided they wanted to have a really bad hangover tomorrow, the man chose to ignore them. 

“So anything new recently?” he finally asked Shizuo. At the question, the other just shook his head. 

“Nothing really. Work, chasing the Flea, nothing much.”

“Speaking of work, how’s your kōhai, the pretty russian girl ?”

“Vorona ? Good, I guess…” Shizuo trailed of, seemingly a little puzzled. “Do you… want her number or something ?”

“ Oh no don’t worry,” Kadota quickly reassured the blond. “I wouldn’t try to steal your girlfriend” he said with a wink.

“My what ?!” Shizuo nearly spat his drink, clearly shocked and confused. He shook his head, glancing at Shinra and Izaya. “No we’re not… god no she’s just a friend… A good friend, yes, but nothing more.”

Kadota felt himself blushed. He had always thought there was something more between the two, but the way his friend denied it, maybe he had been seeing too much into it. Or not. Anyway, it was true the man had never heard him talking about a girlfriend.

“Uh uh… sorry man, I just thought there was something but if you say so.”

Seeing the other relaxing, Kadota decided he might as well try to pry a little more, after all, they were friends, and even if the blond was shy about the subject, Kadota was still curious :

“But you should pay attention. If you had someone, they could become jealous of her. I mean, the two of you are rather close, don’t you think ?”

At that, Shizuo looked back at Kadota, suddenly a little worried. Got him.

“You think ?”

“Well you know,” Kadota started, and god did he hate acting like Izaya but he knew that with Shizuo he didn’t really have any choice, the man was too secretive. And they were friends, Kadota reminded himself once again, it was okay to tease the other a little, “ if they were the jealous type, which isn’t the case of everyone, granted, but it’s still possible, they might think you have some feelings towards her.”

At least, she does, he thought but didn’t say out loud because it was pretty obvious that what the girl felt went beyond simple feelings of friendship. 

“Not that you’re the kind of person who would cheat on someone, but they might nonetheless be worried. But if they’re not jealous then that’s good for you.” 

SIlence fell between the two, only cut by their (drunk) friends. They had already finished their bottle, and it seemed as though Izaya was ready to ordered a new one, but with his elbow on the table and his hand bearing his head’s weight, he wasn’t really in any condition to do much except listen to Shinra rambling about some kind of experience involving a bear, a tiger, a chimera and Shizuo. 

Even though he had been stressed about tonight, Kadota was happy to be with his friends. While he wouldn’t change the way things were for him, he did regret not spending so much time with them. Of course, he loved every member of his gang, but it wasn’t the same. He had made memories with them, sure, but he had some much of them with those three. They had been together for years, had learned to deal with each other’s antics (okay maybe it was more complex between Izaya and Shizuo but there were times when they didn’t try to actively kill each other !). High school had been fun, thanks to them. 

Shizuo startled Kadota out of his thoughts by clearing his throat :

“You really think… err… that… hypothetically , if I had someone, he- they would be jealous of Vorona?”

Kadota looked back at his friend, surprised by Shizuo’s worry clear as the day on his face. Kadota suddenly felt guilty: he really shouldn’t have tease the other with this kind of subject, although what he said was true.

“Hypothetically ?” Shizuo nodded. “It would depend of the person I guess. Are they prompt to be jealous ? Or to feel insecure ?”

Shizuo remained silent for a few seconds, glancing once again at their drunk friends, before looking at the table. “He is… both I mean. Jealous and insecure.” he mumbled. 

So it was a “he” Kadota noticed, but didn’t say anything. 

“Insecure about your relationship or about himself ?”

“Would it change something ?” Shizuo asked, looking a little disbelieving.

“I don’t know,” Kadota answered honestly, “I’m just trying to imagine this hypothetical boyfriend.”

Shizuo seemed to understand and suddenly looked quite shy. Kadota came closer to the other and lowered his voice a little, thinking that maybe Shizuo was still afraid of the other two listening to them. Shizuo did the same :

“Maybe you should tell me what kind of guy he is ?” Kadota tried again, mostly because he wanted to help, but also because he was curious too.

“What do you want to know ?”

“Anything ? How did you meet ? How he is when you’re together ? Anything related to him that you deem worth mentioning.”

“There’s a lot” Shizuo scoffed. “Let’s just say…” he sighed “we met years ago, and it wasn’t really love at first sight.” He chuckled, “Or maybe it was, in the end.”

Shizuo smiled softly, lost in thoughts for a moment before he shook his head. “Anyway. We got, or rather, hypothetically we would have gotten togeth-”

“Drop the act and go straight to the point Shizuo.” Kadota smiled an encouraging smile. After all, even though Shizuo didn’t seem to be ready to tell him who his significant one was, he could at least acknowledge their existence. For a moment, Shizuo looked as if he was about to protest, but in the end, he closed his mouth and nodded, maybe thinking the same as Kadota. He smiled back, but his face became quickly serious again.

“Can we go outside for a bit ? I think I’ll need a cigaret.”

After checking Shinra and Izaya weren’t going to do something stupid if left alone for some times, the two friends started to head out. 

The air was chiller than before, the sun having set a few hours ago. The street was quiet too, silent except for the sound of the bar they just had left, too far away and too muffled to bother the peacefulness of the night. It was good to be outside for a while after the noises and the warm of the inside. Kadota leaned against the wall, taking support while looking up. 

It really was a beautiful night, and for an instant Kadota felt as if it was years ago once again. He chuckled lightly, thinking about the time when he and Shizuo would just hang out during the night, when life was too much for any of them to bear, teenagers full of fear about the present, about the future, about the few responsibility they held. Looking back now, it all seemed silly, all those things they used to worry about back then. In the end, they grew up, learned from their mistakes and made new ones, while trying to achieve their own dreams. And in the face of tonight, Kadota thought, they did well.

“So” he broke the silence, teasing, “want to tell me more about your love life ?” His wink made Shizuo laugh too, made his shoulders less tense.

“Where do I start again ?”

“The beginning I guess ? You told me you two met a long time ago ?”

“Right.”

Shizuo lighted up his cigarette, before taking a drag.

“We both knew each other, but we didn’t catch on instantly. It was more like we couldn’t stay in the same room for more than a minute before one of us pissed the other off.” They both laughed at that, Shizuo because of the memory, Kadota because it reminded him of him and Izaya. “ I couldn’t stand him at first. He was everything I despised. And for a while, I was sure I hated him.”

The blond closed his eyes, leaning his head against the wall too. He looked peaceful like this, Kadota noticed, happy even, as if the mere memory of this person was enough for him.

“But eventually, I had to admit it wasn’t hate. I.. couldn’t bring myself to say it was love, and nothing really changed in my behaviour towards him. But I noticed he was special to me. And one day, we started to fool around.” His voice began to drop a little, “I still acted as if I hated him but it was harder to pretend. I think he felt the same, way before me too. He has always been smarter than others, especially me. He overthinks a lot. And about everything. He can spend the entire night turning an idea in his head and still think about it in the morning.” 

“So your someone’s an intellectual, isn’t he ?” 

“Yeah,” Shizuo smiled, glancing at his friend. “He is.”

“I guess the fact he overthinks doesn’t help with his insecurity.” Kadota added, and flinched when his friend’s face darkened a bit.

“It took me some time before I understood that. He’s the type to lie a lot about himself, and he’s always try to use some mask. I think he was scared of rejection and he just… found it easier to play a role. Even when we start to date.”

“And now ?”

“Now it’s… better. Sometimes, he goes back to pretending and I really hate it. Because it feels as if I’m not able to… ease his mind. I know he trusts me, but he doesn’t trust himself and... “ Shizuo paused and ducked his head, and if he didn’t know better, Kadota would have swear his eyes were wet. When he spoke again, Shizuo’s voice was barely a whisper “I just want him to be happy. For once, I’d like for him to stop worrying about everything.”

He went silent afterwards. Kadota didn’t press him, because he knew Shizuo usually had to take some time before opening up, to express his feelings right. When he glanced back at him, he had lift his head.

“He would laugh at me if he ever heard me say it out loud to someone else, but” he said, self-deprecating smile decorating his face as he looked back at Kadota “I really love him you know ?” Kadota stared back, and grinned at his friend 

“I more or less got it.”

“I know he used to think, for some time, that I was seeing Vorona. It was a little before we started officially dating. At the time he was always telling me to go see her every time we argued or something. And it was unnerving, because I was coming to terms with my feelings for him and I had passed the point where I was beginning to understand how happy I was with him. And here he would come and tell me to date someone else. I thought he was just exaggerating everything, like always… but if even you thought Vorona and I were together, maybe I should pay more attention about it.”

Of course Shizuo was obvious to his friend’s feelings… Him not noticing was nearly something usual. No wonder his boyfriend would be jealous.

“You’ve talked to him about it ? After you start dating ?”

“We kind of did,” rubbed the back of his head “Like I said, I know how he gets, so I try to reassure him the best I can, but I never really thought it could be something serious. At least, concerning Vorona.”

The raven patted his back, sympathizing. “You try your best, that’s what matter. I’m sure he notices too. ” Shizuo let out a sigh.

“I think I should talk to him about it again… and maybe try to talk to Vorona too.”

“You should.” The raven smiled.

“Kadota ?”

“Yeah ?”

“Thanks for listening.”

“Don’t mention it, man, it’s all right.”

They stood outside a little more, happy for their conversation. 

“You should introduce him to me, sometime.” Kadota chuckled, peeking at his friend and was surprise to see him blushing madly, once again rubbing the back of his head :

“Yeah… about that-”

But Shizuo never got to finish his sentence, because the door flew open, letting out a pair of ravens laughing like two idiots. Maybe leaving Izaya and Shinra alone hadn’t been the best idea they could have. 

“Shi-zu-chaaan ! I wanna go home righ’ now pleaaase! I want a piggy ride too!” Izaya drawled, no more sober than he was an hour ago. Kadota nearly cringed when he saw his friend looping his arms around Shizuo’s neck but before he could try and detached him, Shinra threw up on his shoes, preventing him to see the blond’s reaction.

“Oh come on !” Kadota cried. 

While he was washing his shoes as best as he could with a poor handkerchief, Shizuo asked him if he would be alright taking Shinra home by himself. 

“Good night Dotachin !” Izaya giggled from behind Kadota’s back. The man finally turned around and dropped his hold on Shinra shoulder (making him fall face first against the concrete and yearning himself a yelp) at the sight before him.

A few meters from them, Izaya was waving at him from his position in Shizuo’s arms, the man holding Izaya princess’ style. 

“What the-” The man began to mutter, before he was cutted by Shinra’s drunken rambling

“Shizuo is soooo lucky, Celty never lets me carry her! Though I’m not complaining about my dear Celty, far from it, but I would be so blessed to be allowed to carry my angel across our apartment. She’s an angel, ain’t she , Celty has-”

“Wait Shinra! What do you mean Shizuo is lucky ?” The doctor looked at him as if Kadota was dumb.

“Because he can carry Izaya ! Is’t it romantic, to be able to carry your-”

“Why would he care if he can carry Izaya or not?”

“But as a token of love of course!” Shinra scoffed. “Really Kadota, I know nobody can compare to my Celty, but that doesn’t mean-”

The rest of his monologue went unheard by Kadota. The man was having a hard time understanding what Shinra was trying to say. He was drunk. Too drunk. Awfully drunk. It was silly to even try to listen to him. Shizuo and Izaya ? No way. The men hated each other.   
Since Raira! There was no way-

And anyway, Shizuo was already dating someone. And while it was possible for Izaya to be in love with the ex-bartender, it didn’t mean it was requited. No. Shizuo was in a relationship with another guy. They were happy together. And it was sad for Izaya, really, but Shizuo had clearly said he loved the other dude. What’s more, it seemed as if their relationship wasn’t new, they knew each other for a long time, so it clearly wasn’t a simple crush! They had a past together, they had learned to love each other and even if the other dude had some insecurities, Shizuo was trying his best to undo years of hatred and of-

Wait...

Oh.

Oh..

Oh…

OH !!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I POST SOMETHING!!! This serie is mostly about Shizuo and Izaya's relationshi being discover by their friends, and while I had a idea for almost everyone, I didn't know what to do for Dotachin! And since I wanted some talk about feelings with Shizuo, I was like, why not?
> 
> Anyway, I relly hope you liked it, and don't hesitate to leave kudos or feedbacks ^^


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